• About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Shop Merch
SWHELPER
  • Login
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • News
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Mental Health
  • LGBTQ
  • Justice
No Result
View All Result
Post Jobs
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • News
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Mental Health
  • LGBTQ
  • Justice
No Result
View All Result
SWHELPER
No Result
View All Result
ADVERTISEMENT
Home Culture Entertainment

Mental Illness in ABC’s Black Box

Julia CardosobyJulia Cardoso
12/31/2015
in Entertainment, Mental Health
1
Mental Illness in ABC’s Black Box

ABC's Black Box

0
SHARES
2
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ABC's Black Box
ABC’s Black Box

ABC’s Black Box premiered on April 24th with Kelly Reilly as the main character. Reilly plays Dr. Catherine Black, a brilliant neurologist, who suffers from bipolar disorder which is a chronic mental illness involving periods of mania and depression. The illness can have elated impacts on one’s mood, energy levels and decision-making.

Those with this disorder are distinguished based on their intense highs and lows. Riley’s character is shown through the manic and depressive episode of the illness throughout the show. The show refers to the brain as the black box, and Dr. Catherine Black is known as the curer of all neurological disorders while disregarding and hiding her own mental illness.

Catherine Black’s manic episodes conveniently occur when she’s away from work and the demands of the job. This show has brought on many controversy based on its portrayal of mental illness. Some questions I had while watching the show are:

  1. Is this a glamorized representation of mental illness?
  2. How accurate is the portrayal of Bipolar disorder?
  3. Can someone be in a 2 year relationship and hide their bipolar disorder from their partner?
  4. How can a neuroscientist hide their mental illness in the work place without compromising their patients?

The creator of the show, Amy Holden Jones, grew up with a first hand witness to bipolar disorder. Her father was diagnosed with the illness and experienced the associated stigmas. When asked what sparked her inspiration for the show she answered:

I’ve always wanted to get into the world of the brain, having personally lived in a family dealing with mental illness for a long time—I was 43 when my father finally died. In my era, with my father, there was so much secrecy. I never even had a conversation with him about his illness. We would live through his episodes and we’d never talk about them. He was very brilliant, high-achieving, worked 24/7 when he was younger. Then he had his first big breakdown at around 40.  He finally began taking lithium and it made such a difference in our lives—but there are a lot of things I don’t understand. Looking back, I assume he had something like high-cycling mania. When I read Kay Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind, I suspected maybe he sometimes stopped taking his medication. And I know, as a doctor, he often experimented with self-medicating.

In Kay’s book, I saw someone that had a full life, success and had mental illness. Black Box is not a show about bipolar; I only saw it as an opportunity to have a character that lived with it who had a full and interesting life. Because of my father, I did an enormous amount of reading about the brain always, people like VS Ramachandran, Steven Pinker, and Oliver Sacks, who was a big influence. What I took in most of all is that behavior is not the result of how your mother raised you, but the biology of brain you are born with. Our brains our built by our genes, just like our hair and our eyes and everything else. Read Full Article

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
Tags: ABCAmy Holden JonesBipolar disorderBlack BoxCatherine BlackKay JamisonKelly Reillymental illnessnamiOliver Sacks
Previous Post

Do Foreign Drivers Need Education Before Getting on the Road

Next Post

Social Workers Need to be Social Networkers!

Next Post
Social Workers Need to be Social Networkers!

Social Workers Need to be Social Networkers!

Please login to join discussion
ADVERTISEMENT

  • Ending the Therapeutic Relationship: Creative Termination Activities

    Ending the Therapeutic Relationship: Creative Termination Activities

    94 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

    694 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Biopsychosocial Perspective to Mental Health and Illness

    3 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • My Journey as a Teacher and the Future of Education

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Fast and Furious Star Paul Walker Died During Charity Event for Philippines Typhoon Victims

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
ADVERTISEMENT
SWHELPER

We bring content to support you and the people you care about in their various stages of life. If you are searching in google on how to help or assist a loved one or yourself, check out our content.

LEARN MORE »

  • Terms of Service
  • Article Submissions
  • Advertising
  • Shop Merch

© 2024 SWHELPER.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
If You Enjoyed This Post
Join Our Newsletter
Subscribe
Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime.
Close
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Category
    • Business
    • Culture
    • Economy
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Travel
    • Opinion
    • Politics
    • Tech
    • World
  • Find/Post Jobs
  • Contact Us
  • Shop Merch

© 2024 SWHELPER.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.